Hosiery slitter

ABSTRACT

A slitter for slitting woven or knitted textile hose having a marking therealong comprises a rotatable generally conical hose opener disposed apex-downwards above a rotatable container platform for a container from which the hose is drawn upwards onto the opener to be slit, while opened (but not stretched) thereon, by an adjustable severing device adjacent the opener, platform control means being provided for controlling the orientation of the container platform and container so as to achieve rough alignment of the marking with the severing device as the hose approaches the opener, and opener control means for controlling the orientation of the opener so as to ensure accurate registration of the marking with the severing device.

United States Patent [191 Ekelund 1 Jan. 16, 1973 [54] HOSIERY SLITTER 2,214,593 9/1940 Mustin et al ..s3/72 x [76] Inventor: Christer- Ekelund, Hagavfigen 1, 3,581,614 6/1971 Catallo ..83/425 X Kmna Sweden Primary Examiner-Andrew R. Juhasz Filed! J 1971 Assistant Examiner-James F. Coan N: Attorney-Robert E- Burns [57] ABSTRACT [30] Foreign Application Priority Data A slitter for slitting woven or knitted textile hose hav- Feb. 2, 1970 Sweden ..1285/ ing a marking therealong comprises a rotatable generally conical hose opener disposed apexl downwards above a rotatable container platform for a 8 container from which the hose is drawn upwards onto [51 1 II!- Cl. ..B26d 7/08 the opener to be slit, while opened (but not stretched) Field of Search 195, thereon, by an adjustable severing device adjacent the V 926 opener, platform control means being provided for 78 controlling the orientation of the container platform and container so as to achieve rough alignment of the [56] References Cited marking with the severing device as the hose approaches the opener, and opener control means for UNITED STATES PATENTS controlling the orientation of the opener so as to en- 1,628,215 5/1927 Zoline ..83/425 X sure accurate registration of the marking with the 3,196,723 7/1965 Cohn et al. ..83/l6l X severing device. 3,381,397 5/l968 Cohn et al. ..83/l75 X 1,836,718 12/1931 Leguillon ..83/187 X 8 Claims, 2 Drawing Figures HOSIERY SLITTER This invention concerns a hosiery slitter, that is to say a device for slitting a textile hose (which term is intended to include both knitted hose and woven hose) to enable it to be opened out into a flat web.

Difficulty can arise with fabric webs derived from woven and knitted hoses by slitting, if such slitting is effected whilst the hose is under tension, when the webs are subjected to subsequent treatments. For example, the tension existing in the hose may result in the slitting deviating from its intended position. Furthermore, known apparatus for effecting such slitting does not enable it to be carried out very easily, and precise accuracy cannot always be achieved.

An object of this invention is to provide a hosiery slitter which enables slitting to be effected whilst the hose is opened up fully to circular configuration without being stretched, and which enables the slitting to be effected accurately in a relatively simple and fully reliable manner.

With this object in view, the present invention provides a hosiery slitter, for slitting a textile hose along a predetermined marking extending longitudinally of said hose, comprising a platform, rotatable about a substantially vertical axis, for supporting a container from which the hose to be slit is drawn, platform control means enabling the orientation of said platform to be varied by rotating it about said axis as necessary to enable the hose drawn from said container with its said marking approximately in a constant disposition, a hose opener, of substantially conical configuration, disposed above said platform with its apex directed downwards towards said platform, for said hose to be drawn thereon from said container, said hose opener being mounted for rotation about a respective substantially vertical axis, a severing device disposed adjacent said hose opener for severing said hose as it is drawn up said hose opener, said severing device being adjustable to enable said severing to be effected when said hose is fully open ed, but not stretched, by said hose opener, opener control means enabling the orientation of said opener to be varied by rotating it about its said respective vertical axis as necessary to enable the hose drawn thereon to be maintained with its said marking in accurate register with said severing device, and meansfor drawing away from said opener the web derived from slitting the hose.

With the construction of hosiery slitter of the invention, the hose can be cut open whilst opened out and in the absence of any significant expanding or stretching tension, so that the resultant web is free of defects or imperfections which might arise if severing is effected whilst the hose is stretched or under tension. This is achieved because the hose, as it approaches the opener is rendered free of twists, folds or the like by reason of the container having being subjected to any necessary rotations to ensure that the hose has its marking progressing roughly in a predetermined disposition. The hose therefore runs freelyonto the lower end of the hose opener and is drawn up the latter substantially without friction or resistance, so that the opener opens the hose out gently and without generating tensions or imparting tension thereto. The severing device is adjusted to engage with the hose, to sever the same, in register with the location at which the hose has reached its fully opened condition and before it has progressed far enough up the opener for it to have become stretched. Once it has passed the severing device, of course, the hose cannot be stretched by the opener, since it has then lost its essentially tubular form, so that the fabric thereafter progresses in the form of a web derived from the hose, and such web is substantially free from tensions and from defects which might have arised from severing the hose whilst stretched or under tension.

Naturally, it is desirable that only the minimum of tension should be applied to the web, after severance of the hose. To ensure this, the means for drawing the web away from the opener preferably comprises a plurality of driven rollers, and advantageously a spreader device is provided between the opener and the driven rollers for spreading out the web.

The slitter of the invention enables fabric hoses to be slit open accurately along a suitable marking along the hose rapidly and with substantial precision. The marking may, for example, be a woven-in or knitted-in severance marking (or a so called severance seam") incorporated in the hose in the manufacture thereof, or it may be a subsequently applied marking. As the hose leaves the container, the platform, with the container thereon, is rotated as necessary to achieve coarse or rough alignment of the marking with the severing device as it approaches the opener. This rotation is achieved, of course, by way of the platform control means and such control means may comprise operatoractuatable pedals arranged so that if the operator requires the platform to rotate in one direction he depresses one pedal and if he requires it to rotate in the other direction he depresses the other pedal.

The opener control means which ensure that the opener is rotated as necessary to ensure that the mark ing (which has already been roughly aligned with the severing device) on the hose, when the latter is on the opener, is accurately and precisely registered with the severing device may comprise a manually actuatable control member, such as a handwheel, tiller or the like. It is, ofcourse, possible to provide a photoelectric sensor in association with the opener control means, this sensor serving to sense the position of the marking on the hose being drawn up the opener and serving to actuate the opener control to change the openers orientation as necessary to assure accurate marking/severing device registration.

It is worthy of note that the slitter of the invention can be used for slitting fabric hoses whether they be wet or dry without practical difficulties arising, and works rapidly and simply regardless of whether the hose is randomly disposed or disordered in the container or is arranged therein in any orderly fashion.

The slitter of the invention may be arranged for the web, obtained from severing the hose, to be wound onto a take-up beam. However, in order to avoid applying tension to the web (which must necessarily occur even to a small extent when the fabric is wound onto a beam) the resultant web is preferably arranged in an orderly zig-zag folded or accordion configuration as it runs from the rollers.

In order that the invention may be fully understood it will be described further, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

HO. 1 is a diagrammatic side elevation illustrating a preferred embodiment of the hosiery slitter of.the invention; and

FIG. 2 is a front perspective view of the hosiery slitter of FIG. 1.

For convenience of description, it is to be assumed that a textile (i.e., woven orknitted) fabric hose is already in position on the slitter, such a hose and a container from which it is drawn being shown in FIG. 2 but having been omitted from FIG. 1 for clarity.

At the front of the hosiery slitter is a platform 1, generally of circular configuration, mounted so as to be capable of being rotated about a vertical axis extending substantially through the center of the platform 1. The

. latter serves to support a mobile container, which is illustrated in FIG. 1 and is in the form of a circular tub, this container serving to accommodate a batch of fabric hose required to be slit. A ramp 2 adjacent the platform 1 facilitates the maneuvering of the container onto the platform and any suitable locator or retainer arrangement is provided for making the container fast against unintentional movement on the platform.

A reversible drive motor 4 is provided in the bottom of a frame of the slitter, beneath an operators dais therein, and this is coupled with the platform 1 by way of a chain 5. Pedals 3 and 16 provided near to the floor of the operators dais are connected to the motor 4 in such a way that depression of the pedal 3 causes relatively slow speed rotation of the platform 1 in one direction and depression of the pedal 16 causes rotation of the platform 1 in the other direction. It will be appreciated that the pedals 3, 16, the motor 4 and the chain 5 represent a platform control means enabling the orientation of the platform 1 to be varied as desired by rotating it about its vertical axis.

A hose opener 6 is disposed directly above the platform 1. As shown, this hose opener is generally of frusto-conical configuration disposed with its apex downwards being of skeletal construction and composed of a plurality of tubes. A generally spherical skeletal lead-on head is provided on the lowermost end of said opener 6, which is mounted for rotation about its central axis which is vertically disposed. Such rotation can be effected by way of a chain 20 extending around a sprocket on an upright spindle l9 journalled in the frame, this spindle 19, in turn, being rotatable manually by means of a handwheel 17 by way of a chain 18.

Disposed adjacent the opener 6 so as to be at the side of the latter nearest the operators dais is a severing device comprising a motor-driven rotary cutting knife 7 mounted on an appropriate member of the frame by an adjusting arrangement 8 whereby the position of the severing device up or down the height of the hose opener 6 can be varied.

Above the hose opener 6 and inclined so that its upper end slopes towards the upperpart of the frame of the slitter is a web spreader indicated generally by the reference numeral 9. This spreader 9 may comprise an appropriately shaped tube providing a bowed cross bar coupled to the frame by-side limbs provided at each end thereof, as shown, although any suitable web spreader arrangement may be provided.

At the top of the frame, adjacent the spreader 9 is a driven roller 10 and to the rear of the frame are a driven roller 11, an idler roller 12, a spreader roller 13 having oppositely directed spiral arrays of projections thereon, a driven roller 14 for advancing a fabric hose over the hose opener and a swingable folding arm 15.

In operation of the hose slitter, the fabric hose is drawn from the container on the platform 1 and is manually passed onto and drawn up the hose opener 6. This hose has an appropriate marking extending therealong, which marking may, for instance, be incorporated into the fabric in the manufacture thereof as a severance marking. In the container, the hose may be in a random or disorderly batch, or it may be contained therein in an orderly condition. As it emerges from the container, an operator, in position on the dais, operates the pedals 3, l6 selectively, as necessary, to change the orientation of the platform 1, by rotating it about its vertical axis, to ensure that the marking on the hose drawn out of the container and approaching the opener 6 always lies roughly below the knife 7 of the severing device.

Since this control of the platform 1, and the container thereon, is effected by the operators feet, he has his hands free to manipulate the handwheel 17. Such manipulation is effected to control the orientation of the opener 6 in such a way that the marking on the hose runs constantly in precise and accurate registration with the cutting knife 7.

The control of the platform 1 ensures that the hose approaches the opener 6 in an orderly condition free of twists and folds and is drawn smoothly onto the lower end of the opener 6, to be drawn up the latter substantially without friction or resistance. As it rises up the opener 6, the hose is progressively opened out and the severing device is disposed so that the knife 7 engages with the hose at the position where the diameter of the opener is substantially equal to the fully open diameter of the hose. Accordingly, the knife 7 severs or slits the hose precisely when it has been fully opened, but before the opener can impart any expanding tension to or cause stretching of the hose. After passing the knife 7, the fabric has, of course, been converted into a web which is spread out approximately flat by passing over the cross bar of the spreader 9 after which it passes over the rollers 10 and 11, under the roller 12 over the spreader roller 13 and over the'driven roller 14 to the folding arm 15 which serves to lay the web in zig-zag or accordion folds on a receiving table or trolley (not shown). If desired, the folding arm can be omitted and the web will then be wound onto a take-up beam (not shown).

For initial threading-through of a hose upon starting .up of the slitter, use will be made of a leading web, e.g.,

of paper which is threaded through the various rollers and taken over the spreader 9, down the opener 6, to the container. The leading end of the hose is connected to this lead-in web, and upon starting-up of the slitter such lead-in web draws the hose through the slitter.

The invention is not confined to the precise details of the foregoing example and variations may be made thereto. Thus, for instance, instead of the hand-wheel 17 a tiller or other suitable manually operable arrangement may be provided. Furthermore, it is possible to provide a photoelectric sensor adjacent the opener 6 to sense the disposition of the hoses marking as it passes up the opener towards the knife 7, this sensor then serving to provide signals to a motor the like which serves to adjust the orientation of the opener 6 to ensure registration of the severance marking with the knife 7. The opener 6 need not, of course, be of skeletal form, and the spherical lead-on head is not essential.

lclaim:

l. A hosiery slitter, for slitting a-textile hose along a predetermined marking extending longitudinally of said hose, comprising a platform, rotatable about a substantially vertical axis, for supporting a container from which a hose to be slit is drawn, platform control means enabling the orientation of said platform to be varied by rotating it about said axis as necessary to enable the hose drawn from said container and having a marking for said marking to be approximately in a constant disposition, a hose opener, of substantially conical configuration, disposed above said platform with an apex thereof. directed downwards towards said platform, for said hose to be drawn thereon from said container, means mounting said hose opener for rotation about a respective substantially vertical axis, a severing device disposed adjacent said hose opener, said severing device being adjustable to enable said severing to be effected when said hose is fully opened, but not stretched, by said hose opener, opener control means enabling the orientation of said opener to be varied by rotating it about said respective vertical axis as necessary to enable the hose drawn thereon to be maintained with its said marking in accurate register with said severing device, and means for drawing away from said opener the web derived from slitting the hose.

2. A hosiery slitter as set forth in claim 1 wherein said means for drawing the web away from said opener comprises a plurality of driven rollers.

3. A hosiery slitter as set forth in claim 2 wherein a spreader device is provided between said opener and said driven rollers for spreading out the web.

4. A hosiery slitter as set forth in claim 3 wherein said plurality of driven rollers includes a spreading roller.

5. A hosiery slitter as set forth in claim 1 wherein said hose opener comprises a skeletal construction.

6. A hosiery slitter as set forth in claim 5 wherein said hose opener is composed of tubes.

7. A hosiery slitter as set forth in claim 1 wherein said severing device comprises a motor-driven circular knife.

8. A hosiery slitter as set forth in claim 1 wherein said platform control means comprises operator-actuatable pedals and said opener control means comprises a manually actuatable control member. 

1. A hosiery slitter, for slitting a textile hose along a predetermined marking extending longitudinally of said hose, comprising a platform, rotatable about a substantially vertical axis, for supporting a container from which a hose to be slit is drawn, platform control means enabling the orientation of said platform to be varied by rotating it about said axis as necessary to enable the hose drawn from said container and having a marking for said marking to be approximately in a constant disposition, a hose opener, of substantially conical configuration, disposed above said platform with an apex thereof directed downwards towards said platform, for said hose to be drawn thereon from said container, means mounting said hose opener for rotation about a respective substantially vertical axis, a seveRing device disposed adjacent said hose opener, said severing device being adjustable to enable said severing to be effected when said hose is fully opened, but not stretched, by said hose opener, opener control means enabling the orientation of said opener to be varied by rotating it about said respective vertical axis as necessary to enable the hose drawn thereon to be maintained with its said marking in accurate register with said severing device, and means for drawing away from said opener the web derived from slitting the hose.
 2. A hosiery slitter as set forth in claim 1 wherein said means for drawing the web away from said opener comprises a plurality of driven rollers.
 3. A hosiery slitter as set forth in claim 2 wherein a spreader device is provided between said opener and said driven rollers for spreading out the web.
 4. A hosiery slitter as set forth in claim 3 wherein said plurality of driven rollers includes a spreading roller.
 5. A hosiery slitter as set forth in claim 1 wherein said hose opener comprises a skeletal construction.
 6. A hosiery slitter as set forth in claim 5 wherein said hose opener is composed of tubes.
 7. A hosiery slitter as set forth in claim 1 wherein said severing device comprises a motor-driven circular knife.
 8. A hosiery slitter as set forth in claim 1 wherein said platform control means comprises operator-actuatable pedals and said opener control means comprises a manually actuatable control member. 